Emotionless
by jessi-the-untalented
Summary: The days I spent so cold so hungry, full of hate I was so angry, the scars run deep inside this tattooed body, theres things I'll take to my grave, but I'm okay, yeah I'm okay"


Author: Jessi The Untalented  
  
Contact:   
  
Disclaimer: Any characters from The Mummy/The Mummy Returns belong to Stephen Sommers and Universal Studios, the letter Rick writes to his father is 'Emotionless' by Good Charlotte.  
  
Summary: "The days I spent so cold so hungry, full of hate I was so angry, the scars run deep inside this tatooed body, theres things I'll take to my grave, but I'm okay, yeah I'm okay"--Good Charlotte, Emotionless. After years of keeping everything inside Rick is finally able to get enough closure to contact his father.  
  
Emotionless  
  
Even the weather hurt today. The sky was a perfect, sharp blue with occational contrasting white puffs of whispy clouds. Every once in a while a soft breeze would ruffle through the crisp green leaves of the trees surrounding the premises, where birds were singing their happy songs despite the cold, rainy mood of the few people standing in silence, heads hung, as the priest said his last words and the coffin was lowered into the ground.  
  
As the small group slowly dissipated, each person gave the three children, standing hand-in-hand infront of the grave, a sad, appologetic look before quietly returning to their cars and driving off.  
  
It wasn't long before there was only one man standing there, and after a moment he went over to the children, resting his hands on the shoulders of the oldest,"We should go, there are alot of arrangements to be made."  
  
"For me, anyway." fourteen year old Richard responded with a hint of coldness in his voice.  
  
"For all of us." his uncle corrected quickly, giving the tall, skinny boy's shoulders a squeeze before letting go,"I know your mothers death was hard for you, but it wasn't anyones fault."  
  
"It was his." Rick all but hissed, knowing his uncle would know who he was talking about,"She got sick when he left, she died because he left!"  
  
"It wasn't your fathers either!" Robert said, grabbing the boy by his shoulder again and beginning to pull him to the car, Rick's eight year old brother, David, and five year old sister, Sara, having to run to keep up with their uncle's long strides. As they reached the car Robert opened the back door and shoved his eldest nephew into the seat,"Your brother and sister need you to act like a mature young adult instead of filling their heads with all of this ridiculous nonsense!" he warned, helping David and Sara into the backseat with Rick then shutting the door firmly.  
  
The beginning of the drive home was silent, with Rick scowling out of the window at the passing trees and cars until his sisters voice caught his attention,"Where's daddy?"  
  
"Gone." he informed before his uncle could say anything, turning his stare to Sara"And he's not coming back so just forget about him."  
  
Her innocent blue eyes countered his more venomous look,"Why?"  
  
"Because he's a lying bastard!"  
  
"Richard!!" his uncle bellowed, glaring at him from the rearveiw mirror,"If I hear you talk like that ever again I, personally, will take you straight down to hell and leave you for the devil."  
  
Rick turned an icy glare back to Robert for a moment before turning his head to continue scowling out of the window.  
  
The huge brick building loomed ahead of them as Rick and Uncle Rob came through the large, iron swinging gates. As Robert got out of the car and opened his umbrella to protect him from the drizzle of the gloomy gray morning, Rick stayed in the car, leaned forward over the dashboard, staring up at the equaly as gloomy looking building, feeling as if he fate had just been sealed.  
  
Robert stood outside of the car for a moment, wanting to give Rick a little time atleast. He went around and popped the trunk open, pulling out the single bag his nephew had packed. Another minuet of waiting was all Rob could take and he went to Rick's side of the car, opening the door,"Come on, we can't wait here all day."  
  
Rick stared up at the orphanage for another moment before turning to his uncle,"Why do David and Sara get to stay with you and you're sending me here?" he asked, the first time he had spoken since after his mothers funeral two days ago.  
  
"I've told you no one in the family has enough money to support the three of you. You'll find a home, Richard."  
  
After looking up at him for a minuet, blue eyes now just as cloudy and gray as the weather, he got out of the car, yanking his bag out of Robert's hands and leading him into the orphanage where he almost ran into a young lady. As he tilted his head back slightly to see her a soft smile spread on her face. She looked to be about twenty, with long blonde hair and happy green eyes,"You must be Richard O'connell, I'm Ann, I'm a teacher here, so we'll probably be seeing alot of each other."  
  
He regarded her with complete unintrest, staying mute, but the smile didn't leave her face and she looked up to Robert when he finally caught up with them,"Mr.Westly? We've been expecting you two, I'll show you to the office so you can fill out some paperwork and help him get settled in."  
  
Robert offered a smile and a thanks, then followed the young woman down the hall, and into an office where an older woman was waiting behind a desk. She had white hair, frizzing out of a messy bun, and the look on her face was one of a stressed, slightly forced smile that tends to come with living with hundreds of children for atleast twenty years. Her eyes were tired, and she looked in desperate need of a nap, which she probably hadn't had in more than a decade,"Mr.Westly? And this must be Richard, feel free to take a seat. I'm Mrs.Williams" she said, gesturing to the chairs on the opposite side of the desk from where she sat.  
  
Robert scooted past Rick and sat down,"What all does this process involve?"  
  
"You'll have to answer a few questions, fill out some paper work, and then you're free to go while we show him to a room and around the orphanage and school." she told him, shuffling a few papers on her desk, and handing him a few things to fill out while she asked him questions,"You're the boy's uncle, correct?"  
  
"Right, his mother's brother."  
  
"Where is his father?" she asked, handing a pen to Robert and picking up one for herself.  
  
Robert looked over all the papers, getting an idea as to what he was supposed to fill out as he listened to her,"He ran off, no one knows to where, exactly."  
  
"And his mother?"  
  
"She's passed away."  
  
"So you have full custody of him? May I ask why you're putting him up for adoption?"  
  
Rick stepped forward, plopping down in the seat next to his uncle's,"Becuase they hate me."  
  
Robert closed his eyes, a slightly annoyed look playing out on his features,"We don't hate him. Nobody in the family can afford to take care of him, we think this is best so he will be taken into a good family who is ready for a kid."  
  
She nodded, writing a few things down. She let him finish the paperwork then took it, looking it over before placing it in a file folder and handing it to Ann, who slipped it into a file cabinet then turned to them,"I'll give you a tour of the grounds and take you up to your room, Richard. You can come if you'd like, Mr.Westly."  
  
"Do you want me to come with you, Rick?" Rob asked, making a final atempt at getting through to his nephew. With no reply Rick stood up, looking at Ann expectanly. Robert sighed softly, hanging his head for a moment before standing up, too,"Alright, then, have it your way. We'll miss you." he told him, vanishing down the hall.  
  
"This is just plain stupid Rick!!" Samuel Reiner protested, following his friend as he paced from the closet to the bed, carrying arm loads of his stuff and dumping it into the open suitcase he was packing.  
  
"It's better then staying in this hell hole!" Rick argued jamming the last of the things he would need in his bag and struggling to get the zipper closed,"I'm sick of being thrown around from family to family. Besides, no one's going to adopt a sixteen year old, it's only two years until I'm free to be on my own, anyway."  
  
"Where are you going to go? You don't have a job, let alone money!"  
  
"I told you, Sam, I'm going to join the legion! I'll go where they go." he said, throwing his bag over his shoulder and turning his attention to Sam. They had been best friends and room mates over the past year, since Rick had gotten stuck the Cairo orphanage through much moving around and being tossed between different families and orphanages since his uncle had abandoned him two years ago.  
  
"And if they find out you're only sixteen?" he asked, handing coming to rest on his hips, his dark brown eyes in a frantic panic as he looked up at his friend.  
  
"They wont!" Rick said, rolling his eyes,"I'll be fine, you worry to much. I can't be here any longer. It's just not for me."  
  
"It's not like I want to be here, but I'm not volunteering to get myself killed, either!" Sam disputed, running his hand back through his short black hair.  
  
"I'll be fine!" Rick repeated, resting his hand on Sam's shoulder,"I still wish you'd come with me, but I guess that's out of the question.  
  
With a heavy sigh Sam nodded,"I just can't."  
  
Rick nodded, too, patting his shoulder,"That's okay. I'll write, huh? To prove I'll survive."  
  
"Okay." he agreed, glancing up at Rick before pulling him into a light hug,"But you'd better write."  
  
With a chuckle, Rick hugged Sam back then gave him a playfully punch in the arm,"I will...... talk to you later, I guess." he said, looking at his friend for a little longer before giving him a slight smile, then heading for the window and climbing out into the yard of the orphanage, making sure no one could see him then running off into the night.  
  
She laied awake in the dark for a while, just staring up at the ceiling. She could tell by her the breathing of her husband of only a month, and the way in which he occationally moved that he was awake. After a moment she shivered slightly and slid closer to him for warmth. His back was to her, but she wraped her arm around his waist, kissing his bare shoulderblade and whispering a,"Hey."  
  
Rick smiled softly, his hand moving to cover hers as it rested on his stomach,"Hey. Didn't know you were awake."  
  
"Mmhmm." Evelyn said quietly, resting her head against his back,"Why aren't you sleeping?"  
  
"Just thinking." he said with a soft smile, turning to face her and slipping his arms around her,"What about you?"  
  
"Thinking about everything about your past you told me last night." she said, rubbing her hand absen mindedly up and down his arm,"But you never got around to telling it all." she added with a sly giggle.  
  
He chuckled, closing his eyes as he thought how his story had been "interupted" when they decided to occupy their time with something a little more fun,"Gee, wonder why."  
  
"Me too." Evy said with another, more innocent giggle,"So what about the rest of it?"  
  
He sighed softly,"Mmm, if I must." he said, keeping his eyes close, and faint smile on his lips.  
  
"You must." Evelyn told him, kissing the tip of his nose then snuggling closer.  
  
"Well, they found out I was sixteen anyway, just about the second I walked in, and it was on the streets for me." he shrugged slightly,"Luckily I had refined my pick-pocket and shop lifting skills years before, so it wasn't too hard to find things to eat most of the time, and I could even pay for a cheap motel room every once in a while." Rick said, his voice keeping a tone that showed he had come to terms with this all a long time ago, and it wasn't anything he would cry about now,"But two years later I was finally eight teen, and the leigon was back in town, so I joined up with them finally, and well, you know the rest."  
  
"Mm, you ran away from the legion and were wrongly thrown in prison until you were saved by the most wonderful woman in the world, who proceeded to take you on the adventure of a life time and save your life many times." a smile spread across Evy's face as she finished the story for him.  
  
He chuckled,"Something like that." he took a deep breath and let it out slowly,"Thank you for helping me track down my father."  
  
She smiled,"That's just the wonderful me shinning through. Have you decided if you're accualy going to write to him yet?"  
  
"Maybe. I just don't know what I'm going to say."  
  
"Well if you need any help you know I'm here." she offered, reaching up and tucking a strand of his unruly hair back behind his ear,"Night. I love you."  
  
"Love you too."  
  
After his lunch and bathroom break, Rick came back to his study, standing in the doorway for a moment before crossing the room and taking a seat behind his desk, to resume staring at the blank peice of paper and pen sitting infront of him. After about fifteen minuets of straining to think of something to write his mind slowly wondered off to Evy and the stories of his past he had told her the night before. She was the first person he had told everything to, the first person he felt he could be completely honest with without being ridiculed or having to worry about loosing her. He could be completely open.  
  
That was it.  
  
He had to be completely open. He couldn't worry about being too nice, or overly crule. He didn't need to worry about telling him anything personal, or trying to bond with him. He just needed to get his feelings out there.  
  
Picking up the pen, Rick knew exactly what to say, and for the first time he really understood it all.  
  
Hey dad,  
  
I'm writing to you  
  
not to tell you, that I still hate you  
  
just to ask you  
  
how you feel  
  
and how we fell apart  
  
how this fell apart  
  
are you happy out there in this great wide world?  
  
do you think about your sons?  
  
do you miss your little girl?  
  
when you lay your head down  
  
how do you sleep at night?  
  
do you even wonder if we're all right?  
  
well we're all right  
  
we're all right  
  
it's been a long hard road without you by my side  
  
why weren't you there all the nights that we cried  
  
you broke my mother's heart  
  
you broke your children for life  
  
it's not ok,  
  
but we're all right  
  
I remember the days, you were a hero in my eyes  
  
but those were just a long lost memory of mine  
  
I spent so many years learning how to survive  
  
Now, I'm writing just to let you know I'm still alive   
  
yeah I'm still alive.  
  
The days I spent so  
  
cold so hungry  
  
full of hate  
  
I was so angry  
  
the scars run deep  
  
inside this tatooed body  
  
theres things I'll take  
  
to my grave  
  
but I'm okay  
  
yeah I'm okay  
  
Sometimes.  
  
I forgive  
  
yeah and this time  
  
I'll admit  
  
that I miss you, said I miss you  
  
hey dad  
  
The End  
  
Notes: I dont know what you all think, I find it a little choppy, but I wrote it all today, so by the end I was probably drifting off to sleep. Tell me what you think anyway :o) And again, just to make sure, the letter Rick wrote is a song by Good Charlotte called Emotionless :oD 


End file.
